Lock handle

ABSTRACT

A door lock provided with a member for releasing the lock from the inside in case of emergency, which member also serves to adjust the lock to doors of different thicknesses.

I United States Patent 1191 [111 3,829,139 Storlie Aug. 13, 1974 [54]LOCK HANDLE 403,223 5/1889 Schmaus 292/354 1,623,324 4/1927 Wcrst292/355 [75] Inventor: Llewellyn Smrhe Decorah, Iowa 1,685,317 9/1928Devereaux 292/348 ux 73 A 1 2,385,350 9/1945 Dady 292/202 ux ssignee{:33 Products Company, Decorah, 2,478,589 8/1949 McKenzie 2,784,9953/1957 Hawkins [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 3,271,062 9/1966 Schelin292/336.3 1 L 292 348 [1 pp No 238,204 3 387 876 6/ 968 yons PrimaryExaminerFrank L. Abbott 52 U.S. c1 292/349, 292/202, 292/354,AssistantExaminer-William e ggg/ 5 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Richard1 J.Renk [51] Int. Cl. E05c 3/00 [58] Field of Search 292/92, 355, 210, 348,ABSTRACT 292/349, 354, 202; 70/92 A door lock provided with a member forreleasing the look from the inside in case of emergency, which [56]References Cited member also serves to adjust the lock to doors of dif-UNITED STATES PATENTS ferent thicknesses. 7 350,397 10/1886 1 Schade292/355 4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 1 LOCK HANDLE BACKGROUND OFINVENTION SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention overcomes thedeficiencies of the prior lock handles by providing a novel means ofquickly releasing the locked handle from the inside in case of emergencyor other need. On many applications this could well provide the onlymeans of emergency exit. As a further feature, the invention provides a'novel means of rapidly installing and adjusting the lock handle in doorsof different thicknesses and types.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in section, showing the novel lockhandle. I

FIG. 2 is a front view of the three point latch rotor of the lockshowingit in a locked position as viewed along lines 2 2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of the three point latch rotor generally similar toFIG. 2 showing the rotor rotated 90 counterclockwise to an unlockedposition.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the three point latch rotor taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3 omitting the release lever and auxiliary locking bolts.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the release lever.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the release lever.

FIG. 7 relates to another embodiment of the invention with a differenttype latch rotor known as a single point latch rotor. I

FIG. 8 is a view of the single point latch rotor of FIG. 7 taken alonglines 8 8 thereof.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged side view of the release lever of theembodiment shown in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, the doorhandle lock 10 is shown mounted on a door 11 and in'locking positionwith respect to a door frame or jamb 12. The lock includes a handle 13,a shaft 14, a mounting face plate 15 and a latch rotor 16.

Shaft 14 is fixed in handle 13 and journaled for rotation in hub 17 ofthe mounting face plate 15. The shaft has a square end 19 (FIG. 2) whichextends through an appropriate hole 20 in the door. Rotor 16 isremovably secured to the shaft end 19 on the inside of the door by arelease lever 21. The back side of the rotor has a boss 21 which extendsinwardly into the door hole 20 and is journaled for rotation therein.

The rotor 16 includes a central body portion 22 (FIG. 1), relativelythin flat wings 23 and 24 (FIG. 4) extending outwardly away from thebody on opposite sides thereof, a latching leg 25 extending outwardlyfrom a side between the wings, and angle shaped overhanging arms 26 and27 (FIG. 2) spaced away from the wings as at 28 (FIG. 4) but in a planegenerally parallel to the wings. Each of the wings has a pin 29projecting toward the plane of the arms 26 and 27 for a purpose to bediscussed later.

When the door handle is in the position shown in FIGS. land 2, the rotorlatching leg 25 is in locking engagement with the door frame 12. As therotor 16 is turned counter-clockwise by the handle 13 in the directionof the arrow X in FIG. 2, the rotor will move out of locking inengagement with the door frame 12 and into the unlocked position of FIG.3.

Now in accordance with the invention, to enable someone locked inside atrailer, cabinet, mobile home, etc. to unlock the handle in case ofemergency, there is provided means for releasably securing the latchingmeans to the shaft 14. The means for releasably securing the latchingmeans includes the release lever 21 with a depending finger 30 and camoreccentric knob 31 (FIGS. 5 and 6).

As shown in FIG. 5 the knob or cam 31 extends at right angles to thedepending finger 30. The knob (including lever 21) is pivotally securedto the rotor by a stub shaft 32 which is headed as at 32. The knob orcam 31 is nested in a socket 33 (FIG. 1) formed in the rotor 16 whichbreaks out into the bore 34 in the rotor. For a purpose to be describedbelow, knob 31 is somewhat oblong with the distance H (FIG. 6) beingslightly larger than the distance W.

When the lever 21 is in the vertical solid line position of FIGS. 1 and2, the top surface 35 of the knob contacts the underside of the shaft19. This causes the rotor to be held tightly on the shaft by the wedgeaction the knob exerts between the shaft and the rotor.

To release the wedge action of the knob, the lever 21 is swungclockwisev (FIG. 2) to the dotted line position. Such movement placesthe thinner side 36 of the knob adjacent the flat of the shaft 19. Therotor 21 can then be pulled off the shaft 19 to thereby release thehandle and, in effect, unlock the door.

During normal operation, the lever 21 is held in its retaining positionby ribs 37 (FIG. 2) which project outwardly from the outside face of thelatching leg 25. Ribs 37 are of sufficient height to allow the lever tobe snapped over them by using reasonable hand pressure. The central body22 of the rotor is relieved as at 38 to allow for swinging movement ofthe lever 21. An edge wall 39 of the relieved area also serves as a stopabutment for the lever when it is in its retaining position (solid lineposition of FIG. 2).

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6, in addition to the locking actionprovided by the rotor leg 25, two retractable latch bolts 40 and 41 can.be actuated by the rotor. The bolts are pivotally secured to the pins 29on the rotor wings 23 and 24. The right angle arms 26 and 27 spacedupwardly from the wings as at 28 (FIG. 4) extend in somewhat surroundingrelation to the respective pins 29. The arms 26 and 27 act asoverhanging guards to prevent the bolts 40 and 41 from slipping off thepivot pins 29 in the locked position of FIG. 2 and in the unlockedposition of FIG. 3. (In FIG. 3 the bolts are in an unlocked or retractedposition relative to the edges of a door.) The bolts are initiallysnapped onto the pins 29 by rotating the rotor clockwise from theposition of FIG. 2 in the direction Z. This places the opening orpockets 42 formed by the open end of the arms facing the ends of therespective bolts, i.e. opposite the position of FIG. 3.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 whichdiffers from the previous embodiment by using a different type rotor 43.

Specifically, the rotor 43 is somewhat J-shaped. It has a latching leg44, a short right angle leg 45 and a reverse bend leg 47 extendingparallel to the latching leg 44 thereby. forming a U-shaped end. Squareopenings 48 and 49 aligned with one another are provided in the latchingleg 44 and in the parallel leg 47 to allow the shaft end 19 to slidetherethrough.

Partial circular openings 50 and 51 in the respective latching leg 44and parallel leg 47 serve as bearing surfaces and break out into therespective square openings 48 and 49.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the release lever 52 of this embodiment hastrunions 53 extending on opposite sides of the cam or knob 54. The widthW (FIG. 9) of the cam 54 is generally of the same width as the truniondiameter while the height H of the cam extends above the diameter of thetrunion to thereby provide the eccentric effect wedge locking effectalong the surface 55.

In use, the release lever 52 is mounted via the trunions 53 pivoted inthe partial circular openings 50 and 51. Release lever 52 is retained inits holding position by a depression 56 formed on the under side of thelever which engages an embossed catch or detent 57 in the rotor latchingleg 44.

While a three point lock is shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6 anda one point lock in the embodiment of F IGS. 7 to 9, it is within theconcepts of the invention to provide any number of combinations of one,

two, three or more latching points. Likewise the parts may be made bymolding or stamping.

As another feature of the invention, it is clear from the foregoing thatthe concepts of the invention-allow the handle to be applied to doors ofdifferent thicknesses. This is easily accomplished since the rotor canbe released by the release lever and slid back and forth on the handleshaft 19 until it is in tight engagement with the inside of the door.The release lever is then swung into its retaining position to bring theknob into engagement with the shaft.

What I claim is:

l. A lock handle assembly for a door comprising,

a shaft adapted to be inserted in an opening in a door,

a handle on one side of said door secured to said shaft and adapted torotate said shaft,

a rotor carried on the other end of said shaft and adapted to move withmovement of said shaft,

securing means releasably holding said rotor on said shaft, said meansincluding a cam member with an eccentric knob portion for producing awedging action between said rotor and said shaft to aid in securing saidrotor on said shaft and prevent movement between said shaft and saidrotor and hold said shaft and said handle against movement in adirection parallel to the axis of said shaft, and

a lever connected to said cam member to move said knob portion into andout of engagement with said shaft.

2. A lock handle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein means areprovided for retaining said cam in its retaining position relative tosaid shaft.

3. A lock handle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotor isformed as a bracket having a U- shaped end with an opening in oppositesides of said U- shaped end through which said shaft passes and saidsecuring means extends between opposite sides of said U-shaped end andis moveable into engagement with said shaft.

4. A lock assembly for a door comprising,

a shaft adapted to be inserted in an opening in a door and adapted to berotated about its longitudinal axis,

handle means on one side of said door attached to said shaft to rotatesaid shaft,

latching means carried by said shaft on the other side of said door, and

securing means releaseably holding said latching means on said shaft,said securing means being journaled on said latching means for rotationabout an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said shaft, and,

actuating means operable by hand actuation operably connected to saidsecuring means, said securing means being moveable into and out ofengagement with said shaft when said actuating means is moved by handactuation and when out of engagement with said shaft allowing saidlatching means to be moved-relative to said shaft and when in engagementwith said shaft retaining said shaft in fixed position relative to saidshaft.

1. A lock handle assembly for a door comprising, a shaft adapted to beinserted in an opening in a door, a handle on one side of said doorsecured to said shaft and adapted to rotate said shaft, a rotor carriedon the other end of said shaft and adapted to move with movement of saidshaft, securing means releasably holding said rotor on said shaft, saidmeans including a cam member with an eccentric knob portion forproducing a wedging action between said rotor and said shaft to aid insecuring said rotor on said shaft and prevent movement between saidshaft and said rotor and hold said shaft and said handle againstmovement in a direction parallel to the axis of said shaft, and a leverconnected to said cam member to move said knob portion into and out ofengagement with said shaft.
 2. A lock handle assembly as claimed inclaim 1 wherein means are provided for retaining said cam in itsretaining position relative to said shaft.
 3. A lock handle assembly asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said rotor is formed as a bracket having aU-shaped end with an opening in opposite sides of said U-shaped endthrough which said shaft passes and said securing means extends betweenopposite sides of said U-shaped end and is moveable into engagement withsaid shaft.
 4. A lock assembly for a door comprising, a shaft adapted tobe inserted in an opening in a door and adapted to be rotated about itslongitudinal axis, handle means on one side of said door attached tosaid shaft to rotate said shaft, latching means carried by said shaft onthe other side of said door, and securing means releaseably holding saidlatching means on said shaft, said securing means being journaled onsaid latching means for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis ofrotation of said shaft, and, actuating means operable by hand actuationoperably connected to said securing means, said securing means beingmoveable into and out of engagement with said shaft when said actuatingmeans is moved by hand actuation and when out of engagement with saidshaft allowing said latching means to be moved relative to said shaftand when in engagement with said shaft retaining said shaft in fixedposition relative to said shaft.